I am Nothing, I have Nothing, and I can do Nothing!

D

docseth1 Jul 8, 2013

I am nothing, I have nothing & I can do nothing! These are some of the greatest words that a servant of the Lord can utter. These are not the ramblings of one with low self-esteem. These are the words of one who knows the meaning of reliance upon God. These are the words of those who have taken seriously what Jesus taught - "Without Me, you cannot do anything." (Jn 15:5)

Any Christian who has ever attempted to do anything great for God knows this to be true; though, coming to this realization often comes with a costly price tag.

Our pride gets hurt.
Our plans fail.
Friends and ministry partners forsake us.
Bouts of discouragement, depression, fear and stress come upon us.

It is during these times that the Holy Spirit takes us to school - sometimes to learn and relearn the valuable lesson of reliance on Christ.

The plan is that after we've had enough, we come to our senses and realize that unless God gets involved, we are doomed! Sadly, this process can be pretty extensive - we are stubborn creatures. So we keep fighting and struggling to make it happen. But coming to the end of ourselves is where we find God. In finding God, we find all the power and provision of heaven for the taking. God help us to come to the end of ourselves!

Remember this: God hasn't called us to collapse us. He hasn't sent us to sink us. He hasn't brought us this far to bury us. He hasn't loved us to leave us. If you believe that, you can make it through anything that comes your way. Believe it and don't let your faith fail now.

Throw your life and ministry on the faithfulness of God. Confess before Him your inadequacies. Confess before Him that you do need Him. If the shoe fits your situation, repent of your self-reliance and plead with Him for His presence. He will not deny your request.

http://myministryplace.blogspot.com/2013/07/i-am-nothing-i-have-nothing-and-i-can.html

sermonindex Jul 8, 2013

It is during these times that the Holy Spirit takes us to school - sometimes to learn and relearn the valuable lesson of reliance on Christ.

Wonderful Article. Praise God.

sermonindex Jul 8, 2013

What we CAN do, according to your post:

1. Rely on God

It is during these times that the Holy Spirit takes us to school - sometimes to learn and relearn the valuable lesson of reliance on Christ.

2. Abandon yourself to God

Throw your life and ministry on the faithfulness of God.

3. Confession

Confess before Him your inadequacies. Confess before Him that you do need Him.

4. Repent

repent of your self-reliance

5. Hunger and thirst for righteousness

and plead with Him for His presence.

In short, Yield to God, follow Him, obeying His voice and trust in Him.

M

murrcolr Jul 8, 2013

I agree with Greg it is a wonderful article and very encouraging for me at this time.

Quote: He hasn't brought us this far to bury us.

But I find in my walk that’s exactly what needs to happen, as he does want us buried.

We were buried with Him . . . that just as Christ was raised from the dead . . . even so we also should walk in newness of life —Romans 6:4

But is a burial that will take us from defeat to victory, it will cause us to become servants of God and have fruits unto holiness Romans 6:20.

Look at what Christ said: John 8:28 “I do nothing of myself “ this is Christ our example of a Father/Son relationship. To claim to be the Sons of God those who are led of the Spirit Romans 8:14 we must be able to say “I do nothing of myself “ or it’s just self-deception and we are pretending to be something we are not.

If we truly want to walk in a victorious Christian life and say “I do nothing of myself” then it comes through yielding to death. It is dying— being “baptized into His death” Romans 6:3.

D

docseth1 Jul 8, 2013

There's you a five point sermon! :)
Very good!

sermonindex Jul 8, 2013

John_12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

If we do not die we will abide alone, without Christ.

We don't tell newborn babes how difficult life is and that it is fraught with trials and tribulations. Rather we nurture them, surrounding them with love and encouragement so they will grow emotionally and spiritually strong and secure.

The Holy Spirit does the same thing. He brings us from faith to faith and glory to glory, maturing us, little by little and never giving us more than we can handle.

We are called to follow in Christ's steps. You know what those steps are, don't you?

There are a few that the Lord told early on they would suffer greatly "for His sake". Many others read the Scriptures and this realization comes to them slowly that "all that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution", and "through much tribulation you will enter the kingdom of God", yet experientially they have no idea what kind of suffering this entails. Don't be in a hurry. It will come in due time.

Many will contract a terrible disease, others will lose a child or several, some will lose a husband or wife, "before their time", and others will have to endure wayward sons or daughters (or husbands or wives). There are plenty of trials and tribulations to nigh well crush you, and when you come through it, you realize it was the utter grace of God that brought you through it. And like Job, you recall the terrible words you spoke to God while you were in the midst of the trial and marvel again at His love and patience towards you. Even though you may think you did not come through it the way you really would have liked to, you realize the Lord did get another part of your heart and you also realize that you have been changed. This too, is God's miracle working power of grace in your life.

Purifying gold and silver is a messy exercise as the heat is turned up to reveal the dross (impurities). Sometimes, it is revealed quite publicly. This can be a very shameful thing, crushing our pride.

But, we are all on the same journey of the Lord (though with differing experiences) purifying for Himself a people. Let's have mercy and compassion on one another and treat each other as we would want to be treated. Life down here is not easy. But, through it all, Christ is more than worth it. He is more than worth all the pain that He has called us to endure.